Debbie Rowe Wants Custody of Jackson’s Children
July 2, 2009 by Amber
Filed under Celebrity, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s former wife Debbie Rowe has reportedly decided to fight for custody of her two children, Prince Michael Jr. and Paris, whom she carried for the popstar in exchange for a large sum of money.
“I want my children,” Ms Rowe said. “I am stepping up… I have to.”
The reason Rowe has chosen to take the battle to court has to do with Jackson’s appointed guardians for the children – his mother Katherine Jackson, soon to be 80, and close friend Diana Ross, who the children have never met. Rowe is also concerned at the level of Joe Jackson’s involvement in the children’s lives, after the King of Pop accused his father of abuse years ago.
However, there’s a lot of obstacles for the nurse and onetime wife of the pop superstar to overcome, not the least of which is the rumours that she’s not the biological mother of the two eldest Jackson children. Rowe has said that she is willing to submit to any testing, including DNA, to prove that she is their biological mother.
Another of the many obstacles includes Rowe’s 2001 petition to give up her parental rights over the children, in exchange for a house and millions of dollars in cash. Rowe later “reversed her decision” and secured herself visitation rights, but legal experts say this could severly hinder any chance she may or may not have to win custody.
“If she has a strong relationship with her children and… she has seen them somewhat regularly then she has a very strong chance of getting custody,” said Scott Altman, a law professor at the University of Southern California.
“But if… she hardly has visited with her children, they have no relationship at all, they don’t think of her as a mother it will be very difficult for her to get custody.”
Rowe’s lawyers will attend a court hearing on Monday to dispute issues surrounding the Jackson children and his deceased estate, a restraining order against Joe Jackson believed to be among the issues.
Of course, if Rowe does win the suit and gains custody of her children, she will also gain at least partial control of the late popstar’s estate, part of which has been left for his children. The money she would receive for their care is no doubt yet another reason – if not the main reason – Rowe is pushing for custody after all.
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